Fake Bruno Mars tickets cause fans to lose '24K Magic' at San Jose concert

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The music star took the stage at the SAP Center in San Jose Thursday, but outside the venue, disappointed fans were turned away because of counterfeit tickets.

Fans were over the moon to see Bruno Mars in concert, but Megan Galde was turned away. She turned up with a counterfeit ticket. "We got up there and they said the tickets are invalid," Galde told ABC7 News. "I was upset and I was embarrassed."

"I love his music like-- I know all the lyrics to every one of his songs," said Arianne Valdez, who came with her parents.

They got their tickets from Ticketmaster. Her dad wasn't taking any chances with counterfeits. "That happened to me once but it was a sporting event," said Valdez' father Jonathon. "It's a lesson learned."

Shon Mellow of Folsom learned the same lesson at the Bruno Mars concert Tuesday in Sacramento. He bought four tickets from a man on Craigslist for $740. "StubHub receipt, itemized each ticket, what seat, row, and aisle."

The tickets were bogus. He ended up buying four more real tickets that night for another $1,200.

"It was an expensive lesson," Shon said.

Online ticket seller, StubHub, says Bruno Mars is the second highest selling concert tour of the summer, right behind U2.

"That's why marketplaces like StubHub and others were created," said Johanna Hoff of StubHub. "We have access to customer service and money-back guarantees in the rare event that something goes wrong."

They advise to never pay in cash, and to only buy tickets from reputable sources.